


Amnesia: You did the Same for Me

by Luigigirl65



Category: Ghost Simulator (Roblox Game), Roblox (Video Game)
Genre: Amnesia, Billy Recovery, Dev Characters (Do not harass the Ghost Simulator devs! They'reall amazing people!), Dev frickery, Gen, Hikari is my OC, I do not own Cat, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, Jax Redemption, LG tortures Riley, Nonbinary Rowan, Not Shippy, OCs fill player roles, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, She belongs to a friend, She is the frizzy lass, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:54:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luigigirl65/pseuds/Luigigirl65
Summary: Riley helped Shelly through the roughest part of her life: reintroduction to human society. Now, after the Devs deleted her code, Shelly has to step up and help her best friend through the hardest part of her life.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am trying to limit my bad words amd shipping language. I am not shipping these two in this fic because not every relationship has to be romantic, you heathens.

They did it. 

The Agents of Luna have defeated the Devs. 

They flee, vowing to return, but for now, a sigh of relief came to each ghost hunter. 

And now, to clear the area.

The Backdoor was the stronghold of the Devs. A land of bugs and glitches. Days and night flickered between each other like a strobe light. Trees and walls vanish and reappear.

Shelly's eyes scanned the Winter Tundra with Rowan at her side.

"Found anything yet?" she called to him.

He poked his head from the stall they found. "Nothing but these crates. Should we take them back?"

"I dunno. They could be bugged, and we don't want the Devs to know we got their hoverboards..."

"Gotcha."

Shelly sighed. The cold was not great. It's not Ghost World, but it was up there.

For the longest, Shelly remembered huddling with the scientists working on that portal, all panicking. As the sister of Blaze, she did her best to keep everyone calm.

But then that man brought her the fruit.

He said it would cure her of her illness. In her compromised judgment, she took it, but remembered nothing clearly after that.

All memories came in patches of lucidity. The man asking if she was okay. That same human vanishing. Ace angry. Leo screaming. Fern and Jax fighting. Yoko pushing her away. Luna escaping.

She didn't know these people, but knew them so well.

Waking up in the arms of a hunter she didn't recognize was the wake up call she needed.

_'Blaze! I think we got her back!'_

The group of hunters came around, with her brother being happiest to see her again.

There were only two times when Shelly saw Blaze cry: the day he found her and the moment they defeated the Devs. 

Besides the preparation for a battle, Shelly had to catch up with humanity's progress. Ghosts took over the world. Hunters has to stop them. Signs of some stronger power came to be. Also, shenhad to learn about everyone all over again.

The hunter who got her back? Hikari. College dropout turned hunter. The frizzy girl that ran beside Blaze and helped him? Cat. She does art and stories, and is kind of odd. Yoko changed a lot. Even now, he distanced himself. Leo seems all grabby with Blaze.

Then there was Riley.

She was always there, holding her hand as she walked the halls of a busy lab, making sure she didn't get into danger. Her body was cloaked in blue and skin was a pale white. Yet her smile made her feel like the world was waiting for her return. When she spoke, she made sure she understood. Whenever she accidentally offended someone, she was quick to correct her.

She never had a friend like Riley.

When the Backdoor was found and the mysterious Gatekeeper gave them the key, Riley was quick to volunteer her services, along with Rowan and Hikari. Armed with a cloud, they went off to gather information. 

Rowan remained as a kind of spy.

Hikari returned regularly to deliver reports.

But Riley went silent.

Shelly waited.

And waited.

No word was heard from her best friend.

But that fateful day is what gave her hope for her return.

 _'Files have been sent through the cloud.'_ Leo clicked through them, eye wide. _'Riley?!'_

Shelly ran over, seeing the video journal. 

A man that looked like Gabe. A guy named Billy. She liked Billy. Clones of Dylan. That was freaky. A twisted city.

Then it began to change.

Her voice became plasticky and chipper. Her reasoning left. Her words became cut-and-paste scripts with her own words getting less and less time.

Her final message came through as...

_'Please tell Shelly that I miss her.'_

The room was silent as the video faded out. Nearly everyone turned to face Shelly, her jaw dropped and eyes watery.

 _'Shelly,'_ Blaze spoke, voice soft.

_'Get away from me!'_

She ran through the halls and locked herself in her bedroom, taking her pillow and sobbing into it.

It took weeks to get her out. She remained in her bed, remembering the days that Riley shared with her.

Fern had to leave food for her, which she barely ate. Leo sent her the videos so she can hear her voice. Even Blaze sat on the outside, talking to her through the door.

It was only when Hikari said she found her did she ever show her face again. Her reports were detailed, and besides the copious notes of her opinion, they were enough.

Riley was alive, but not fully there. She gave the girl quests to complete, but it felt like a script. As each quest went on, Shelly read of her breaking through. The signal the Devs held on her grew weaker. She had a chance of escape!

But when the next set of files came through, followed by Hikari's notes, her heart fell back into darkness.

' _All personality files have been removed from her,'_ the girl said with a solemn tone, _'I tried running through her data like Leo said, but I got nothing. All she gave me was her jetpack and the files sent in the cloud.'_

 _'Thank you,'_ Luna replied, dismissing their scout. She turned to see Shelly, eyes locked with the floor. _'Please don't run away. I can assure you that we will get her back.'_

_'If the files she sent are not her backup code, I doubt she will.'_

Such a cold response took the leader aback.

But the work began.

The files were all memories, preferences, and other important details, mixed in with Dev plans. It seems she used her own data to mask the more sensitive data she sent.

Slowly, a plan to fight the Devs came into being, and the personality of Riley came back together.

And that led them here, with her trudging through snow, Devs defeated, looking for survivors. The Agents already found Billy and are attempting to stabilize him. That Gabe clone has been taken in for questioning. But there was no sign of Riley.

"Group 2. Have you found any signs of life?"

Shelly began to walk to the border of the tundra, ready to tell Luna what they found, when a small voice came to her ears. 

"Error detected. Error deleted. Quest line complete."

No.

She saw Luna in the swamp over the border, reading her expression like an open book. Her body stood perfectly still. 

"Error detected. Error deleted. Quest line complete."

Shelly sprung to life, attacking the snow beneath her feet as if it called her mother a bad name. She tuned out the world around her as she focused in on the error messages. 

Finally, her hand touched cold skin.

"Luna! Rowan! Over here!"

Footsteps came from behind her as she kept digging, revealing pale skin, auburn hair, and blue clothing. Her shades were askew, revealing her glassy eyes. Her mouth was open, only spouting the error message.

"There's no way. She should be dead."

Shelly looked up at the two at her side, eyes watering.

"What are you doing?! We have to get her home!"

* * *

It was hard to see her laying on the table, hooked up to machines while her code was worked on. She wanted her to sit up and say she was okay. She wants her to hold her and say how she missed her.

But every time the files for her personality, memories, or anything that made her Riley, her heart slowed and breaths softened.

"Gah..." Leo leaned back in his chair. "They're not making it easy on us. They filled her with so much junk code, I can't add anything she had before."

"Well, we are not about to leave an Agent behind," Luna barked, making Leo sit up. "What can you do to fix this?"

"Uh... If I can bypass their security systems, I think I can slowly replace the junk with our backup. But we'll need to be careful, lest we wind up killing her."

Luna looked to the worried blonde, frowning slightly.

"It's a risk we're willing to take. Find the bare minimum to do now, and we'll proceed with the transplant."

"Yes, ma'am."

Shelly had to leave the room. The work Leo did in there was too precious for her constant stress to hinder. She had to get her mind off her.

But everything reminded her of her best friend.

It felt like years. People slowly walked past her. She could've sworn they got Billy up and walking before updating her on Riley. 

Finally. Luna came out, tapping Shelly on her shoulder. "I think you should come in here."

* * *

"I-it's not much, but I have been able to implant some of her files. She might be able to act like before, but I cannot guarantee a full recovery yet. We are going to need more work done to continue the process."

"But you are saying she'll be okay to get up?"

Leo nodded.

"Very well. Activate her, and you are dismissed."

He nodded, typing on his laptop before leaving the room.

Shelly felt her heart race as her eyes slowly opened. Slowly, but surely, Riley returned to life.

"Riley!"

Her head turned to face her, but something wasn't right.

Her gaze was empty. Her expression was confused.

"Riley?" she repeated, "... Is that my name...?"

Shelly's heart sank at the question.

"Riley. That's you. You're Riley."

She pointed at herself. "Riley."

"Yes!" Her hands clasped together and she bounced on her heels. "Do you remember me?"

She blinked. Her brain was clearly working to find the answer. However, her eyes began to water.

"I.... I...." Tears began to fall, seeping through the tulle of her tutu.

"Riley?"

"I... don't know you..."


	2. Chapter 2

"Okay, joke's over! You can stop playing this!"

The tears continued to fall, her body shaking.

"I... don't know you...."

Whatever hope Shelly had vanished then, her heart breaking all over again.

"Riley..."

Her hands went up to cover her face. "I'm sorry.... I'm sorry I can't remember you..."

Shelly wanted to run out and lock herself away. Every part of her wanted to cry.

But that isn't what Riley did for her.

What would Riley do? She would be selfless. The one who always ran to a scene first to assess the situation and act. She would be kind. The one who sat with someone and listened to them, all while telling them all would be alright. She would be sincere. The person who would tell one, not what they want to hear, but what they need to hear.

_'Shelly, I know the effect of the fruit was devastating, and we do not know what constant consumption of it does, but let me assure you that we are doing our best to study it.'_

_'Thank you, miss Riley...'_

_'That is not all.'_ She sat down beside her, her smile wide. _'You will need a guide to the world. It has been a long time since you have been here. I have personally volunteered to be your caretaker until you are ready to face the world.'_

_'Miss Riley..!'_

_'Sh... just call me Riley.'_

The memory of her smile. Her firm grasp on her hand. Her first steps beside her. All because she cared about her wellbeing. 

She was not about to let her lessons go to waste.

"Leo did say the process of restoring her was not complete. She will need a long time to recover and see what the damages the Devs did to her code." Luna looked to Shelly with a stern, but solemn look. "I will personally take to caring for her-"

"With all due respect, boss," Shelly butted in, "but stand the heck back. I volunteer to care for her."

The response clearly took Luna aback. "Shelly. You're more emotionally unstable than Riley was. I doubt you could last as her caretaker."

"I know I am. A am a freaking mess." A new look plastered itself on her face. A look of confidence. Pride. "But she did this for me in my time of need. The least I can do to show my gratitude is do the same for her."

The odd look Luna had slowly vanished, replaced with a smile. "Then so be it." She turned to Riley. "I would like to you to meet your caretaker, Agent 05, Shelly."

Her tearful eyes looked to the other girl. "Shell....ley... " Her voice sounded out each syllable like a child earning to read.

"Yes. She will accompany you in your recovery." Looking back to Shelly, she continued. "As for you, this won't be easy. She doesn't know anyone or remember anything. You'll have to reintroduce her to the Agents and get her back here when Leo calls for more code to be replaced. This is more than Riley ever did for you."

"I know. But she would do the same for me."

Luna nodded. "Then it's settled."

* * *

It was very weird seeing Riley like this. She was like a small child at the doctor's office. Afraid. Quivering. Holding her hand like it was the only lifeline to this earth.

"Riley."

She was silent for a moment before she remembered that she was Riley. "Y-yeah?"

Shelly pried her hands out of hers and put them on her shoulders. "For your sake, I will be in your room. It'll be best if I am there so you can ask me for help."

She slowly nodded. "Okay... okay."

* * *

The gears of the dev base churned and clicked. Churned and clicked. Churned and clicked.

The defeat was embarrassing. Even with one member missing and the temporary deletion of the others, the Agents still beat them.

"I can't believe we lost to our _creation_!"

Makkie ducked down as Goro stormed by, throwing a coffee mug at no one in particular. As she raised back up, she turned to the hall with a sneer on her lips.

"You don't think we're all ashamed of that, too?"

He shot a glare over, making her jump in her chair.

"We did all we could to stop them short of permanent deletion, and it wasn't enough. If it was my plan, this world wouldn't even exist and we wouldn't be here talking about it!"

"If the world didn't exist, we probably wouldn't be here, period."

Goro turned on his heels to see Didi scooting his chair across the hall, fist-bump Thexz, and sling himself back to his room.

"What are we going to do? If the world finds out we lost to the ones we made, they'll exploit it. We made self-aware artificial life, and I won't be caught dead letting this information into the wrong hands!"

"We still have files in Riley..."

"What?!"

The small voice coming out of the pink room squeaked as Coven jumped in shock. "I-I.... I said..."

"She said we still have files in Riley," Makkie finished, earning a small "thank you' from her coworker.

"... you are correct," Thexz stated, "That Agent never appeared to fight. Coven. If you can try and influence her behavior, was can keep these AI in this game. We don't have to delete anyone."

Goro huffed. "You four are going to be the reason they escape."

Coven nodded, typing furiously on her computer. "I-it seems that the Agents already found the files we stuffed in there and they are working to remove them."

"Dang. Here I thought we'd just let Riley do the work," Didi sighed in an exasperated voice. 

"Her c-command code is still there. I put it as a rider to her operational coding to make sure it never gets removed. It also keeps her cold, but it's just a mask effect."

"Perfect!" Thexz exclaimed, "All we gotta do is keep overriding their changes until they give up on her. And of we keep going on that tangent, we can override the others! You are a genius!"

Coven's face turned a bright red as she hid herself behind her screen. "I-it's just an idea I put into it... it's not much..."

The disappointment Goro felt was immeasurable. If he had his way, those Agents would be wiped out of the game entirely and the game would be fine. He turned and returned to his room,sitting at the desk.

* * *

"You must be.... Yoko."

Rowan looked up from his bowl of oatmeal, his electric blue hair nearly blocking his view. "Not even close, Riles."

Riley put her head into her hands. "Ohh.... I don't like this... I don't know you, but you feel so familiar! I'm never gonna be back to normal!"

Rowan looked to Shelly, who looked back with a very sad expression.

"Riley..." Shelly put a hand on her shoulder. "You're doing fine. You remembered a name, even if it wasn't his. That's way better than earlier!"

"Bu... but.... but I feel like I know you all so well! But I don't..." She finally turned to look at Shelly. "I feel like my old life is close to me, but just out of my reach..."

"Don't worry. I was in a place a lot like this before. All you have to do is keep fighting. No matter how many losses you take, walk with your head held high and move forward." She looked to the other Agent. "Let's associate that with a name. This man kept his head up when all hope was lost and he was in a world he never recognized. Yet he fought until he could be here. His name is Rowan."

"Row...wan."

"Rowan."

"Roooowan."

"Rowan!"

He had to avert his gaze, slowly eating his breakfast. That must have hit too hard for him.

"Alright. Now, keep your head high and keep fighting."

"Rowan!"

"Great!"

Heavy footsteps came from behind, making the two turn to face the approaching Luna.

"I see you two are getting along well."

Riley nodded. "I think I'm getting better, Moonlight!"

No response came from her. Before she could voice a reaction, Shelly piped up. 

"Close! She's Luna."

"Lu.... na...."

"Luna."

"Luna!"

"Huh," the head Agent said with a chuckle, "Maybe I underestimated you, Shelly. You really do seem to have things under control."

* * *

"I finished the override."

The pink-haired girl set a remote onto the other Dev's desk. Goro sighed. "Good work, Coven. Now, let us see if Thexz's theory is correct."

* * *

"You're doing so well!"

Riley gave a small sigh, a dejected look forming on her face. "It doesn't feel like it, though."

"Don't be so down about it!" Shelly gave her a small nudge, winking to her. "After all, you have to keep fighting.... liiike."

Pop quiz?! Riley closed her eyes, trying to recall that guy's name.

Buzz.

Buzz.

Buzz.

"Nngh.... Row.... aagh!"

Her hands gripped onto her hair, pulling at it like it was a monster. Falling to her knees, she bit her lip to avoid screaming.

"Riley! Wha... Luna! Blaze! Anyone! Help!"

"Buzz... buzz... stop! Shell.... she....."

**SYSTEM OVERRIDE**

**COMMENCING INTRODUCE.EXE**


	3. Chapter 3

Sky blue eyes slowly came open. Around her, stood Shelly, Luna, Yoko, and Fern.

"It seems she has awoken," Yoko muttered.

"Oh, dearie," Fern gasped, leaning forward to hold onto her wrists and help her up. "Riley, are you alright? Oh, you're so cold..."

Her knees wobbled as she stood upright.

"Riley..." She stepped forward, putting her arm out to place on her shoulder. "... are you okay?"

"System rebooted. Commencing introduction."

Their blood ran cold.

"Greetings, Ghost Hunters! I am Ghost Hunter Riley. Welcome to my icy corner of the world!"

"Ha! Such Developer trickery!" Yoko exclaimed in the most anime-ninja way he could, "It seems they have an override!"

Luna tapped her foot and crossed her arms. "This is a predicament. It looks like the Devs can still access her code."

"But why would they prey on Riley?" Fern asked, a quiver in her voice.

"Riley would be the perfect target. You had been controlled by them before... that junk code must've done more than I thought."

Shelly took her arm back, eyes widening. "Riley.... I...."

"What's wrong, Ghost Hunter? I would say you look like you've seen a ghost, but..." She gave a plastic laugh. "... that would be too true!"

Her body felt weightless. Her very being floated. The past began to flood back in ways she despised.

_'Let's play a game!'_

The blonde hunter in front of her raised an eyebrow. _'What kind of game?'_ She skeptically asked.

 _'If you can complete my tasks, I will give you an extra pet slot. If you can't, you stay with me and play forever!'_ She bounced in place, clapping her hands. _'Doesn't that sound fun?!'_

The girl spoke into the communicator on her pack in a low voice, careful to make sure she didn't hear her words. Finally, she gave a confident smile.

_'Alright. Let's play.'_

And here was Riley, doing it all again. A pre-coded personality and a plastic smile.

Just like the videos.

Just like herself.

Shelly stared at her, her expression stuck in that look of terror. The world around her felt like it was spinning.

"Shelly-chan!"

That was all she heard as she passed out.

* * *

"You had a panic attack."

Fern pat Shelly on the head. They managed to get her into her bedroom, where they put her in bed until she woke up.

"... I think it was PTSD...."

"They can coexist. Right?"

Rowan shrugged. "I'm not a psychologist, Fern."

A soft sob came from Shelly's left, quickly revealing itself to be her brother, Blaze.

"P-please try not to faint... I don't want to lose you again."

"Sorry bro... I don't think I can help it."

He returned his head to the sheets, where he continued to sob. This was the third time she saw him cry. The very thought of losing anyone was horrific. It's what he told her.

"For now, you should rest. We can take care of Riley-"

Shelly shot up at the mention of her friend. "Riley! What happened to her?! Ow. Sore... that hurts..."

* * *

"Found it. A preset personality, tied into her activation. The Devs must have a remote access to this and can override her at any moment."

Luna nodded, looking to Leo. "Can't you get rid of it?"

He gave a shrug. "Wish I could. I would need to get all the junk files out from around her activation and THEN remove the rider. Who knows how long it can take."

"What a vile trick," Yoko muttered, "The Devs have thought of everything when it came to Riley-chan."

Riley looked at Yoko with her plastic smile. "My last name isn't 'Chan', silly!'

"I.... what...?"

Luna huffed. "Looks like we have something else to work on. If we can't get that out now, we have to make a jammer."

"With all due respect, Luna-senpai," Yoko responded, bowing slightly, "Who would know enough about making a jammer than Leo-kun? Is he not already busy enough with repairing Riley?"

"That's why I'm taking this job on myself. I may not be a whizz like Leo, but I know enough to mess the Devs up." She returned her gaze to Leo. "Send me a copy of the targeted code."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Hopefully, we will get that done soon and not have to worry about them coming back to haunt us."

"Shelly!"

"Come back!"

The door to the lab burst open, revealing the younger sister, panicked.

"Riley!"

She looked over, her plastic expression faltering slightly. Shelly walked over, falling to her knees before her. In the door, Fern, Rowan, and Blaze appeared.

"Ghost Hunter?"

She looked up with a sad look. "Riley... listen to me. You have to break through."

"I-I don't know w-what you mean."

"C'mon! It's Shelly! I'm your best friend!"

Riley's fake smile slowly melted, turning into a look of horror. Her body shivered.

"Shelly?"

Leo looked up from his screen. Everyone fell silent.

"Yes... yes! You... you remembered me..."

She looked to the group, her eyes blank. "What... why are you looking at me?"

Tap tap tap...

"Astounding." Leo motioned to Luna. "It seems Shelly's reaction was enough to break the hold. It looks like strong emotional bonds override the override."

"But we still need a jammer so she doesn't fall somewhere dangerous." She turned to face Shelly, who was staring at her with confusion. "Shelly. Your response brought her back. Let's just say I was wrong about you and your readiness. Your emotion could be what saves her."

"Huh?"

Straightening her posture, Luna turned away. "Please, leave us be. Leo and I are going to be discussing this. You are dismissed."

* * *

"Hmph..." Goro simply scowled at the screen. "It seems your little override has a defect, Coven."

She made a small 'Eep!' as a response. "That quickly?!" She dashed from her room to get the remote. "I need to keep working on this... maybe then we can control her."

The leader huffed at her response. Their sympathy for these creations made them sensitive.

If he had his way, they'd all be dead.


	4. Chapter 4

"You have invented a new kind of stupid. A damage you can never undo, kind of stupid. An open all the cages in a zoo kind of stupid; truly, you didn't think this through, kind of-"

"Jax. I love that you're using your talents to cope, but please keep it down. I'm doing paperwork."

Jax blinked twice before closing her laptop. "Sorry... I keep forgetting you guys don't trust me."

Luna put her pen down. "Jax, I get it. We all do things we regret in the heat of passion and in the pursuit of attention. Unfortunately, Ace just wasn't as enthusiastic about your affection than you." She gave a small 'heh' before picking her pen back up. "Leo did the same before I told him I'm ace, but that's only because we communicated. Ace wasn't like that. I'm very happy you are back and wanting to contribute to our cause of keeping this world safe. Just... please remix that song out of my work area."

Jax's face gained a tint of red as she responded. "Thanks, boss."

"Of course."

She stood up with her laptop and left the room, leaving Luna to her paperwork. "You'd think in a computer made world, they'd cut down on the paperwork..."

* * *

"Huh."

"What is it, Leo?" Fern leaned forward, curious about whatever he was working on.

"It seems the wavelength of the override is affected by outside signals and cannot break through wherever there is high activity."

"Wow.... what does that mean?"

"It's a weird thing that can't get through a busy area."

Fern blinked, still not getting it. Leo gave an unenthused sigh. "It's like someone trying to get through a room with too many people in it. It's slow and not likely to reach the end."

"Oh...." She nodded, giving an innocent sigh. "You're so smart, Leo."

"Thanks," he replied, returning his full attention to his work. "I can send that to Luna and she can start on the jammer. And as for Riley..."

_Bwoop!_

The little icon at the bottom of his screen lit up with an orange light. "That has finished compiling and transfering."

Fern looked between him and the unconscious woman on the table. "How much were you able to do?"

"Let's just say we have a long way to go." He reached over his laptop to flip a few switches.

With a small gasp, Riley's eyes opened.

"Good morning, Riley." She pushed herself upright, barely responding to Leo's voice. "Are you well?"

"I... am fine, Leo."

His exposed eye lit up. "Perfect! It looks like some of your memories are slowly returning."

Well, that's great. Still a lot for her to take in. Fern stood up from her seat to stand at her side. "Shelly will be so happy to see you have progressed this much."

"Shelly... Shelly! She's okay, right?"

"Ah! Calm down! She's waiting outside."

She nodded, pushing herself off the table. "Alright... I heard she got hurt and... I was still worried."

"I get it. You've beent through a lot recently and I don't blame you."

"Ahem." The girls looked at Leo, who was staring back with a blank expression. "I'd appreciate it if you two taken the show of affection outside."

"Sorry."

* * *

"Hey Shelly."

She froze up a bit upon hearing Jax. "Hi..."

Jax frowned at her dry response, quickly losing confidence to speak. "I wanted to know if you wanted to request anything. I'm gonna be remixing some songs and-"

"No thanks. I got no ideas."

She sighed. "Shelly, I'm sorry. I know you're still upset with me for running to the Devs. But I swear I am changed!"

A familiar pace of footsteps came by to push the redhead away. "I think you should back off."

"Blaze, I-"

The older brother was having none of it. "I'll believe you when I'm in the forgotten halls of Roblox games and LUA code, traitor."

His firm tone and response made her tear up. Giving it no mind, he returned to face Shelly. With his back turned, Jax ran off, sobbing the whole way.

"Shelly. Did she hurt you? What'd she say?"

"Bro, I'm okay. I could handle Jax on my own. I'm a whole adult."

He sighed. "You know how I feel about you saying that..."

"I just think you're a bit overbearing at times."

The lab door opened and Riley sprinted out, followed by Fern.

"Shelly! I heard you bumped your head! Don't scare me like that! You could've been gravely hurt!"

Shelly looked at Blaze, who gave a smug smile.

"This isn't over, bro."

He faced Fern, crossing his arms. "So, how's it looking for Riley here?"

The other redhead shrugged. "She is just fine. The signal sent could easily be masked by more signals going overhead."

Blaze tapped his foot. "That means until we get the jammer, Riley would have to go to Blox City for her best protection..."

"Blox City?!"

Shelly got up, eyes wide. "But that place is so busy! She will be caught!"

"But Luna is already inquiring about an apartment out there."

Riley nodded a bit before coming to a conclusion. "What about Adam?"

"That's right!" Fern clasped her hands together. "Adam is out there and he helped us against the Devs. We can alert him to this and he can be on the lookout for suspicious activity!"

Well, that was good. Now to address Riley. Shelly smiled as she looked back at her. "You remembered a name of someone that wasn't in this room! You're doing great!"

"I am?!"

* * *

"Hey, Jax."

Jax looked up from her bed to see Rowan coming in. "Hey. What's up?"

She walked in, sitting beside her. "You okay? I heard you crying."

"I'm fine, Rowan..." She gave a small smile to her. "Blaze just said he won't trust me. I don't blame him..."

"Well, you did do something bad, but you couldn't help it. You saw someone you loved and you went for their attention. Honestly, that's more than I could ever do."

"Mm...."

"I'm certain Blaze can forgive you. You just have to put yourself out there as someone who is looking ahead, okay? Don't dwell on your past. Just look to the future and shape it."

".... thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome. I tried."

"What did you mean by 'more than you could ever do'?"

Rowan sighed, averting her gaze towards the door. ".... Let's just say I have an idea of what you went through..."


End file.
